Nineteen boats hailing from St. Maarten, St. Barths, Antigua, St. Kitts and Nevis with eighty-two anglers aboard competed in the 18th Annual Nevis Sport Fishing Tournament on October 20th, organized by the Nevis Yacht Club and hosted by the Oualie Beach Resort. By weigh-in time, it was Capt. Clivin Christmas aboard his 31ft Blackfin Express, Blackfin, and his anglers that brought a whopping 248.3lb of fish to the weigh-in, making it the third consecutive year Blackfin has won the Champion Boat title and Christmas’ eighth time in the winner’s circle.
“The secret to Blackfin’s success revolves around good equipment, a stable work platform to haul in the fish, consistency of depth along the bank and a crew you can rely on to finish off the job,” says Christmas.
The team aboard Blackfin – Christmas, gaffers Dave Mills and Pele Wilkinson, hauler Brad Jarvis, plus two accomplished lady anglers, Kenisha Christmas and Tracy Gallipot-Rigby, headed some 25 miles due east of Nevis to the Barbuda bank. Here, the team trolled for the prolific wahoo that swim the natural channel between Antigua and the Leeward Islands, catching most of their fish before 11am and after 2pm.
In other awards, Nevis-based Askari won Second Best Boat with a catch of 139.7lb, while fellow Nevis vessel, Fast Forward, took top prize in the under 25ft category with 45lb of fish. Nevis’ Christopher Weinphaul, on Grouper Scooper, won best Junior Angler for reeling in a 26.7lb wahoo, while Blackfin’s Ribgy earned top Lady Angler with her 34lb wahoo. In prize categories for the heaviest individual species, prizes were awarded to: Askari, 34.2lb kingfish; Blackfin, 13.2lb tuna; Natalie Kate, 60.8lb dolphin; and Blackfin, 50.5lb wahoo.
“It is always a pleasure to host the annual fishing tournament at our small beachfront resort,” says John Yearwood, managing director of the Oualie Beach Resort. “The visiting anglers come from the surrounding islands, Europe and the USA and rave about the unspoiled beauty of Nevis and local delicacies such as goat soup. This year we even had entrants from Australia and Holland.”
Carol M. Bareuther, RD, is a St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands based marine writer and registered dietitian.
